China Did Not Launch an Artificial Sun

Khadija Boufous

Science

16th January 2022

The video depicts the moment of launching a nuclear fusion reactor (TikTok).

The Claim

The video depicts the moment of launching an artificial sun developed by China.

News posted on

Emerging story

A video showing a group of people filming, using their phones, a glowing orb rising and moving towards the sky has been shared many times by websites and social media users and pages who claimed it shows an artificial sun developed by China.

China debuted a new artificial sun ‼️😳
pic.twitter.com/6ncKa4VQy0
— RapTV (@raptvcom) January 10, 2022

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Misbar’s Analysis

Misbar has investigated the claim and found it to be misleading. It turned out that the video depicts the launching of a rocket at the Wenchang Spacecraft launch site in China.

The nuclear fusion reactor rocket was officially named the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). In addition, the reactor "set a new record for sustained high temperatures after running five times hotter than the sun for more than 17 minutes," according to Chinese media.

Although China did not launch an artificial sun, the Chinese project, which began in 2006 to provide a steady stream of sustainable and clean energy, was dubbed the Chinese "artificial sun."

Our team also discovered that other Twitter users were uploading similar pictures of the rocket launch on December 23, 2022, in the exact location where the viral video was filmed.